This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 88110635, filed Jun. 24, 1999, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an adapter card having dual central processing units (CPUs) architecture. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adapter card having dual central processing units (CPUs) architecture for a mainboard having one CPU slot.
2. Description of Related Art
The core element of a mainboard is a central processing unit (CPU). According to the structure and package of the CPU such as K6, K6-2, socket 370 or slot 1, the CPU can be engaged to the mainboard in many ways. Slot 1 is used for engaging Pentium II or III class of CPUs. Pentium II or III class of CPUs is capable of supporting dual processors while the other types cannot.
Currently, attempts have been made to utilize the two slot 1 type of slots on a mainboard. A pair of adapter cards each having a socket 370 type of CPU thereon is formed. The adapter cards are then inserted into the slot 1 type of slots respectively. However, this arrangement is only feasible for a mainboard having a pair of slots. Since most of the mainboard are still of the single slot type, users of the single slot board are unable to reap the benefits of operating a double processor system.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an adapter card having two processor sockets thereon for the engagement of two processors.
A second object of the invention is to provide a dual processor adapter card so that a pair of processors can be used without the need to modify the original layout of a main circuit board.
A third object of the invention is to provide a dual processor adapter card capable of plugging into the slot on a mainboard so that the pair of processors can be utilized. There is no need to modify the original layout of the mainboard except to change the circuit layout on the adapter card and update the content of the basic input/output system (BIOS).
A fourth object of the invention is to provide a dual processor adapter card capable of using cheaper processors whose performance is superior to that of the Pentium II or III class of processors.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a dual processor adapter card. The adapter card comprises a first processor socket and a second processor socket, a zero-delay buffer and a voltage regulator.
The adapter card has a plurality of electrical pins such as a gold fingers structure. When the adapter card is inserted into the processor slot of a mainboard, the processors are electrically connected to the mainboard through the gold fingers. The first and the second processor sockets are mounted on the adapter card. Each of the processor sockets has a plurality of pins that correspond to each other. Moreover, a portion of the pins on the first processor socket and the second processor sockets corresponds to the electrical pins or gold fingers on the adapter card as well. In other words, a daisy chain method is used to receive or transmit the same signal to various corresponding pins. Among the various pins of the first and the second processor socket, the pins that serve as a terminal is coupled to a pull-up resistor, and then connected to a terminal voltage. The zero-delay buffer is also mounted on the adapter card for providing synchronous clock signals to a first and a second processor on the first and the second processor socket respectively. The voltage regulator is similarly mounted on the adapter card for converting a supply voltage to a voltage suitable for operating the first and the second processor on the adapter card.
In actual application, two processors having a socket 370 specification, for example, can be installed on the adapter card of this invention. The adapter card can be inserted into a slot that uses a slot 1 specification. Hence, all mainboards having a slot 1 type of slot can use low cost processors to upgrade into a dual processor computer.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.